Category: Office/Business Resources

Big Box Watch: Companies want tax refunds to cut losses

Posted on by chase

According to CNN.com, many large companies, inluding Office Depot and International Paper Co., are lobbying to revive a campaign to get refunds for taxes paid as many as five years ago, as losses mount.

At issue is a proposal to allow companies to use 2008 and 2009 net operating losses (NOLs) to get refunds for taxes paid as far back as 2003. Current law allows only a two-year carryback of those losses.

“The NOL provision is the strongest tool you can provide to help companies in a broad cross-section of industries weather the current economic conditions,” the CEOs wrote to lawmakers.

“It will allow businesses to meet payroll, retain their work force, help avoid additional layoffs and stabilize the business environment,” they wrote.

So basically, a lot of large big-box companies are in such deep trouble that they’re looking to extend the rule (which allows you to seek reimbursement for taxes paid up to two years ago) to go back FIVE years to try to cover their ever-expanding losses. I’m all for economic stimulus, but I’d like to think that there must be a better way to “meet payroll, retain workforce, avoid layoffs” and so on. In Office Depot’s case it’s especially hypocritical; they ask for government assistance with one hand and engage in all kinds of shady dealings with the other. Try offering value to your customer and provide a fair and honest work force, and I doubt you’d have all these money troubles. Seems to work for us.

NOPA Urges Governments to End Sole-Source Contracting

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In light of recent allegations of big-box retailers abusing their stranglehold on government contracts, the National Office Products Alliance (NOPA) has put out a statement calling for an end to single-source contracts with state and local governments. The statement was triggered by an announcement to local government customers that, effective approximately March 30, nationwide pricing of office products under the “U.S. Communities” contract would be changed across-the-board without input from local government customers. According to the NOPA press release:

NOPA contends that more competition is essential at the local government and school district levels to ensure consistent delivery of “best value” and help government customers avoid the need for costly, time-consuming and sometimes embarrassing audits of their office product purchases. “Regrettably, such competition has been lacking and the growing number of public audit findings indicating non-compliance with contract pricing and product purchasing requirements should be a major concern,” said Chris Bates, president of NOPA. “In several cases, state and local governments have been refunded public funds that their audits determined were due.”

This sort of day-to-day competition would not only close the door on single companies that seek to abuse their contracts, but open a new one for smaller, independent retailers to get their products in the hands of those who need them. More competition leads to better value for the buyer, and more opportunities for the seller. It’s a win-win situation, and one that’s been a long time coming.

Big Box Watch: Ex-Office Depot Worker Speaks Out

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A CBS2 investigative report has an interview with former Office Depot manager Ed Kurkurian, who was fired for following orders handed down from his superiors to lie to customers about laptop availability. Despite initially not talking to the investigators who came to his store looking for evidence of misconduct, Kurkurian was later fired, with Office Depot saying he was to blame for instructing salespeople not to sell computers without warranties.

Kurkurian gave the interview to clear his name and set the record straight about Office Depot’s policies:

…Kurkurian reveals what he says was the company’s secret policy. Designed to get consumers to buy expensive extras on computers. One he says was handed down from his district manager to some Office Depot stores in Southern California.

“What specifically did he tell you to do?”

“Go ask questions and ask if they want a warranty. If customer doesn’t want a warranty, go in back and pretend like you’re looking for computer and come back and say no. We’re out of stock.”

“That’s lying to the customer?”

“Yes.”

Despite the truth of these accusations already being revealed by an undercover report, it’s pretty damning to hear it straight from an ex-employee’s mouth. Though there will surely be those who accuse him of using this as an opportunity to “get back” at his former employer, the fact that independent investigations have found evidence of similar wrongdoing at stores accross the country lead me to believe that Kurkurian is telling the truth. Shame on you, Office Depot. Maybe there’s a reason your stores are “like ghost towns”. No one likes a crook.

Schedule C – What expenses can your business file?

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Tax time is upon us once again, and small business owners, especially new ones, are likely to be blindsided by the sheer amount of tax information out there for a business owner. According to an article posted on Mary953’s “Caps” blog (a division of popular money site The Motley Fool), the 2006 tax code was the same word length as 10 King James Bibles. No one should be expected to remember it all.

In the spirit of compiling useful knowledge, I thought I’d link you to Mary’s post as it is indeed incredibly helpful in finding out what expenses you can claim. And since we have a particular focus around here, here’s an excerpt that stands out for me:

Office Expenses (18) – Office Supplies – Ink, paper, toner, pens, staplers and staples, paper clips, folders, and, guess what?  If you have an office with a public bathroom, then use that company credit card to buy hand soap, towels, toilet paper and the rest because it is deductible too.  Coffee service is here if for clients.  You can put snow removal, lawn care, cleaning service under this also.  Remember that the name of the game is to spread the expenses out so that you have something under as many spots as possible.

The links above are my own addition, of course, but it’s still cool to see that you can list all this useful stuff on your taxes. Check the article for a full list of how to get the most back (or at least avoid giving too much) this tax season!

Article: An Orderly Office? That’s Personal

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Sara Rimer at the New York Times recently published an incredibly in-depth article about her time spent with a professional interior designer who specializes in work spaces. It contains some anecdotes we can all relate to, and is a great read for anyone looking to re-do their home office.

When Sara first had help organizing her office, she felt great about it. Her filing cabinet was organized, her desk was clear, and everything was in its place.

She had accomplished what many people consider to be the goal of having a tidy home office: she had gotten the clutter out of her sight, and for all intents and purposes, out of her thoughts. A lot of people take this step and feel like they’ve done all they need to do, but even Sara’s friends were skeptical:

“I did that once,” said one of the men at the table, a computer consultant, with a skeptical tone in his voice. “I got everything put away. And I never opened the filing cabinet again.”

“That,” I said serenely, “won’t happen to me.”

A few months later, it had. The cabinet was again serving mainly as a place to put notebooks, scraps of paper and letters I was planning to file tomorrow. The clutter had not only returned but multiplied. I was back to where I’d started, or worse.

In the end, she realized her solution was not going to be hiding everything away in a filing cabinet, but keeping it out in front of her, where she could look at and visually sort her materials without having to root around for them in a drawer.

Employing a label maker and some storage and “bin boxes”, Sara created the perfect organizing system to match her needs and her space.

After that, personalizing the decor and updating the furniture were all that was left to finish off her perfect, customized home office. She even had space to invite her boyfriend to set up his own office space in the small room (though that ended poorly, highlighting another concept touched upon in the article: the need for a personal office space.)

Lisa Whited, the designer who helped Sara, has these tips to share regarding designing a home office:

• The No. 1 rule is clear out the clutter. Get rid of broken things that you won’t ever get around to fixing. Karen Kingston’s book “Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui” is a helpful guide.

• Color can help make a small or confined space feel more livable, and paint is the cheapest way to get it. “I painted the walls of my home office — a five-by-seven-foot, windowless walk-in closet — yellow,” Ms. Whited said. “I like yellow, and we had leftover cans of Behr’s Cornmeal in the basement.”

• Lighting is important: beyond a room’s general illumination, which could be overhead lighting, you can use task lighting, to work at your desk, and accent lighting, like a hanging light, to create an inviting space.

• Choose containers that are an appropriate size to hold what you’re putting in them. They don’t need to be fancy, but if they are going to be visible, they should at least look similar, so the space looks more organized.

• Get the best chair you can afford. “It’s like your bed,” Ms. Whited said. “You spend a ton of time in it.”

• Always have extras of whatever you usually run out of on hand. “I have at least one extra printer cartridge,” she said, “two reams of paper, staples, tape, etc.”

• Don’t dismiss the importance of candles, flowers, a great piece of art — whatever inspires you. It all helps.

All in all, an amazing piece for anyone looking for stories about redoing a home office, looking for inspiration or helpful hints.

Please note, the links I’ve included in my re-telling of the article are used for sample purposes to give you an idea of the look and feel of the office being described; no specific stores or brand names were mentioned in the New York Times article.

Big Box Watch: Office store stock “uncertainty” on the rise

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A recent article by Morningstar has listed their appraisal of OfficeMax stock to an uncertainty level of “extreme”. In a quote that I feel is only good news for online retailers and the end-user consumers, Morningstar said:

Office supply retailers have been disproportionately impacted by the current economic downturn as well as mounting competition from mass merchants and online retailers. In our view, an industry shakeout is inevitable, and it is unlikely that all three office supply superstore chains will survive in their current form.

And while they feel that Staples may be the best positioned to survive the economic storm, given their greater geographic reach and availability of online options over the other two big-box names, they went on to state:

…It is not immediately apparent whether OfficeMax or Office Depot (if either) is better-positioned to weather a severe economic downturn. Both firms carry heavy debt burdens on their balance sheets, and with few indications of an imminent pickup in office product sales, we expect free cash-flow generation to be increasingly difficult over the coming years.

I think this sort of uncertainty is definitely not a new concept, and is certainly being felt across the industry. The availability of quality online alternatives to big-box retailers has been chipping away at their stranglehold on the market for several years, and coupled with the downturn in the economy and stories of impropriety, consumer faith in the office megastore is at an all-time low.

To be fair, these businesses have no one to blame but themselves. They’re clinging to an outdated business model in a time where people are looking to move forward. Office supply sales is an old industry, but that doesn’t mean it needs to keep a death-grip on old ideas. Guess what, guys? Turns out if you provide good, lasting value to your customers, stock the inventory they want at a price that is reasonable and appealing, and deal with them in a friendly manner, your business ends up doing just fine. Who’d have guessed?

Managing Potentially Awkward Workplace Scenarios

Posted on by chase

I came across a great article outlining some easy ways to cut stress at the workplace by managing 10 different sticky situations. It’s aimed at employers, but there’s no reason you can’t apply the information to making your own office life a little smoother. Check out the article to find out what to do when:

1. Two employees start dating or break up
2. An employee shares too much personal information with co-workers
3. A laid-off employee turns vengeful
4. Employees wear politics or religion on their sleeve
5. Employees think a co-worker got an undeserved promotion
6. An employee is planning a wedding and annoying co-workers
7. An employee who needs to drive on the job gets a DUI
8. An employee’s substance-abuse problem is becoming obvious
9. There’s conflict between childless employees and working parents
10. An employee is taking advantage of company money or equipment

The last one is what set off my flags regarding office-supply news. Employee theft of your hard-earned equipment is no laughing matter, and the article lists some good ways to deal with it discretely and humanely. Remember folks, that stapler may not seem like much to you, but after a hundred go missing every year, your boss is going to start getting grouchy. The good news is: they’re cheap! Buy your own!

 

Article: Design a Home Office on a Budget

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I just came across an article from the Los Angeles Times with some helpful hints for building a home office on a budget. While I plan on doing a full feature on this very topic, I thought I’d share the article now because it has some interesting tips. In the article, interior designer Lauren Rottet is shopping brick-and-mortar office supply stores and liquidators, but the fundamental principles she outlines could easily be applied to online ordering:

“Because it’s quick and easy, there’s always the temptation to buy a whole room ensemble – matching desk, chair, cabinet and hutch – but they really dominate a room, and chances are you don’t need all four pieces.”

She moves on, gravitating to the simplest desk – nearly black with unfussy hardware.

“Wood veneers and laminates look cheap,” she says. “The darker the piece, the more it tends to disappear.”

And in the lighting aisle?

“Most people probably have a lamp at home that would serve their purposes,” she says, passing on the options here. “Or they could find a cool one at a vintage furniture store.”

Rottet’s main piece of advice is to keep your home office as much a part of your home as possible. Use design choices that match your personal style, rather than making your home office feel like a workstation or cubicle. Mix-and-match pieces and look for vintage or pre-owned materials to accent your new hardware. One of the ideas I really like was using two pedestal file cabinets as pedestal ends for a desk, and laying a piece of thick glass or granite across them for a DIY feel that still has charm and elegnace.

However you end up kitting out your home office, be sure to do it with quality materials from a reputable retailer. While the temptation is there to trawl the bargain-basement offerings and your local big-box store, you’ll more than likely end up with cheap particleboard junk that falls apart before too long. You don’t need to break the bank; just buy a few quality pieces and accent them with personal touches wherever you can. If you’re going to be spending a lot of time in your home office, you want it to be as comfortable and natural as possible.

Quick News: Buying trends in small business

Posted on by chase

I was just handed a pretty interesting document courtesy of the School, Home and Office Products Association (SHOPA) that lists buying trends in the office supply arena. The numbers are from 2006, but they still make for an interesting read. One of the major things that impressed me was how little brand name mattered to the average office buyer, and also how little they were concerned about price matching. Take the following chart:

Print Cartridges and paper are the only two products that show a huge push for price comparisons, presumably because they are purchased the most often. That means that everything else in that graph is only occasionally thought of as being “worth” shopping around for the best price. Add into that the information found in this chart, which outlines the important attributes when selecting an office supply retailer:

And you can see the price is only third on the list of importance for most companies, with product availability and the company’s needs coming first. To me, this begs the question: “What if a company had almost limitless availability on a huge range of products, from paper, ink and the stuff I buy every day to the things I only buy once or twice a year, AND they offered a great price?” Seems to me like that would be the place you’d shop, right? Food for thought.

I’d personally love to see the updated numbers since 2006, when we’ve seen an explosion in online shopping and a general shying-away from big box retailers in ALL markets, not just office supplies. I imagine they’ll be pretty impressive.

Universities suffering from “Paper Cuts”

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In these troubled economic times, lots of universities are forced to cut spending wherever they can, and unfortunately office supplies are often first on the block. While it might seem like a few sheets of paper here or there don’t make much difference, new articles show the results of these cutbacks can be worse than originally anticipated. An article recently posted in The Central Florida Future, the University of Central Florida student paper, shows that cutbacks to office supplies are having a damaging effect on the way professors teach:

Humanities professor Debra Maukonen can no longer allow students to keep their tests as study tools because she has to collect them due to the recent cut in paper.

…

These changes are part of an effort to cut back on office supplies because of decreased budgets.

The lack of office supplies “makes it more difficult for instructors to do their jobs,” Maukonen said. “In the larger picture, it’s more than paper — it’s people.”

She said a smaller budget means just what students are seeing now: reduced faculty, staff and services; reduced course offerings; reduced face-to-face classes and more online classes; larger class sizes; and an higher student-teacher ratio.

“I know we are saving trees and money by going paperless, but I am seeing a difference in teaching,” Maukonen said.

The trend towards a paperless office has seen huge strides in recent years with the advancement of technology, and in certain places it works wonders for helping an office “go green” and cut back on costs. But it seems like in a university setting cutting the office supply budget is only hurting students.

At UCF, last year, office desk accessories, such as organizers and calculators, totaled around $164,500, and mailing supplies totaled about $34,000. This year, the totals dropped to about $83,800 and $11,900, respectively. Print, copy and fax supplies had the biggest budget for the two years. Last year, they cost the university about $182,800. That number was nearly cut in half for this year to about $94,600.

I think it’s important for universities to consider the impact of slashing budgets on the quality of education they can provide. Rather than unilaterally make huge sweeping cuts, institutions need to consider their options when picking an office supply retailer. Any self-respecting office supply dealer will offer bulk pricing on office supplies, as well as make special deals for educational and governmental institutions. It’s all a matter of shopping around for the best deal, and I can only hope that a university will exhaust all other options before making budget cuts that may harm students.